Five ways an online master’s degree can open up your graphic design career

Annoying, isn’t it? When you landed your first job in graphic design as a new graduate, you thought all your dreams had come true. And in many ways, they had. But a few years down the line, it’s not uncommon to feel like your career is stalling. You’re lacking direction or a sense of moving forward. Well, that’s where Falmouth University’s new MA Graphic Design Online comes in.

Because this highly respected university offers an online MA in graphic design that gives you the means to update your knowledge and practice for today’s globalised industry and propel your career into the next orbit.

So if you’re looking for a way to reinvigorate your understanding of craft, culture and society; become more aware what is happening to the industry globally and upskill your understanding of contemporary design; establish new business skills and new methods of communication to aid your ambitions; form new networks and find new employment options around the world, then this is the course for you.

A new leap forward

The idea of going back to university after years spent work in design might seem odd. But Falmouth’s MA Graphic Design Online is specifically aimed at helping early and mid-career professionals face the challenge of re-evaluating their practice and career trajectory, with the aim of taking a new leap forward.

This is a unique learning experience that allows you to engage with a variety of cultures, practices and opportunities around the world and explore the concepts and techniques of graphic design with leading experts in the field.

Crucially, you’ll get the chance to collaborate and network with others in ways that go way beyond traditional campus-based learning, enabling you to generate new ideas and creative synergies, and drive your career forward.

It’s a great chance to take stock and develop new strategies and networks for future practice.

And because everything takes place online, it’s easy to combine learning and earning in a way that works for you.

How does it work?

So how does it actually work in practice? You access everything through an easy-to-use online interface. That includes lectures and rich learning resources, plus your connections with tutors, fellow students and a dedicated student advisor, so you can share your thoughts and participate in discussions.

But it’s not just about following lectures. Within each topic covered, you are challenged to produce work to help your understanding, having discussions with your classmates and tutors to expand this understanding further.

There are a number of dynamic spaces for discussion including the ‘ideas wall’ – the equivalent of a physical studio space, where students pin up and discuss work, as well as weekly webinars, which act as a space for live active group critique and sharing, alongside optional face-to-face meetups at key graphic design events.

And that’s important because, although there’s the academic rigour to the course that you’d expect from such a renowned university, the focus is firmly on developing your practical skills in a way that will meet the challenges of today’s globalised design industry.

Five ways to jumpstart your career

Here are five ways that the Falmouth’s MA Graphic Design Online course can help you jumpstart your career in graphic design.

1. Boost your analytical skills

Falmouth’s MA Graphic Design Online challenges you to critically analyse key developments in visual culture, business and society. Be honest; is your current job providing you with this kind of intellectual stimulation? Re-engaging your skills of insight and analysis can be a great way to reinvigorate your mojo as a designer.

2. Define your voice

Growing as a designer means not just doing work that’s the same as everyone else’s, but refining a point of difference for your design practice. The free reign offered by completing projects on this course can help you broaden your horizons outside the narrower horizons of your current design job, and discover where your true voice lies.

3. Grow your business brain

Falmouth’s MA Graphic Design Online will help you examine strategies and business approaches, to help manage and inform the vision for your personal or studio practice. Whether your ambition is to launch your own studio, launch a new product or entrepreneurial venture, connect with leading studios and businesses around the world, or just progress within an existing one, business skills are a valuable thing to have indeed.

4. Reach across the world

The uniquely global, online nature of Falmouth’s MA Graphic Design Online means you’ll join a community of graduates from across the world. It’s a great opportunity to develop new ideas through cross-pollination, shared cultural insights, and boost your personal and professional network.

5. Define your specialism

Getting stuck in a career rut often involves repeating design tasks over and over again that you don’t really enjoy and have little passion for. Falmouth’s MA Graphic Design Online can help you identify your true passions, and develop an appropriate specialism that will boost your career and business prospects.